Category Archives: Cappuccino

Hard to believe but summer is almost over! We are making our way to Melbourne Florida for our winter season at the Farmers Markets. To see our schedule visit us at www.cafetalerocoffee.com To celebrate the move try this great coffee dessert.

To make cake: Mix flour and salt together and set to side. In a bowl beat the egg whites with an electric mixer at low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat at medium-high until fluffy and soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar beating until eggs form a peak when mixer is lifted out. Sift 1/3 flour mixture over egg whites, fold in, using rubber spatula, scraping from bottom of the bowl. Continue to sift and fold in the flour until all mixed. Fold in lemon zest and crushed coffee beans. Transfer to a dry ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake 45 minutes. Invert the pan upside down to cool.

Once the cake is cool cut cake into thirds and set aside.

Cut ½ strawberries into thirds or halves, depending on their size. Transfer to a medium bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar, toss and reserve. Chop the remaining strawberries into medium pieces, transfer to a second bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon of the espresso powder mixture.

To make espresso cream: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in powder sugar at low speed, adding espresso powder and vanilla. Stir in sour cream by hand.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until foamy on low speed, increase speed to medium/high and gradually add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Beat until egg whites are shiny and hold stiff peaks.

To assemble: Arrange 1/3 of the cut cake in the bottom of a large glass serving dish. Brush the cake well with the espresso powder mixture. Spread 1/3 of the espresso cream over the cake, followed by ½ the egg white mixture. Cover with 1/3 of the chopped strawberries and their liquid and 1/3 of the sliced strawberries, dust with cocoa powder. Repeat with a second layer.

For top layer, brush final cake layer with remaining espresso powder mixture, and top with remaining espresso cream mixture, chopped and sliced strawberries and remaining liquids, dust with cocoa powder.

Ok now that we have approval from Health Magazine (see article below) to drink coffee, and that it is good for you (perk 1), it makes us smarter (perk 2) and my favorite (perk 3) keeps us slim, I have some great recipes to share with you. I am one of those lucky people who can drink coffee all day long! So any food with coffee as one of the ingredients just makes my taste buds smile.

Don’t sweat that morning cup of joe

By Sarah DiGiulio
From Health Magazine

Drinking as many as three 8-ounce cups a day has proven health benefits. But skip it if you have high blood pressure, an overactive thyroid, or suffer from anxiety, says Loren Wissner Greene, MD, a professor at the New York University School of Medicine.

Perk No. 1: Coffee helps fight disease.

Caffeine may help protect brain cells from the damage that causes Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. And the antioxidants in coffee could help prevent liver disease.

Perk No. 2: It boosts your brainpower.

Java keeps you juiced when you’re sleep-deprived, but a cup before a test can also sharpen memory and keep you alert.

If it makes you too jittery, mix regular with decaf, or drink it with breakfast. Just avoid caffeine for at least four hours before bedtime.

Perk No. 3: It keeps you slim.

The caffeine in coffee can speed up metabolism and fat-burning, which helps lower your risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity. And black coffee is one of the lowest-calorie drink choices around.

Now for the good stuff!

Perk 1 recipe – fighting disease:

Ultra Iced Coffee

Ingredients

9 tablespoons espresso or Italian-roast ground coffee

4 cups boiling water

¼ cup raw sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup crushed mint leaves

1 inch piece of grated peeled fresh ginger

6 teaspoons sweetened condensed milk

2 cups fat free milk

Directions

Place a 13 x 9 baking pan in the freezer. Place coffee in a French press and add the boiling water. If you are using your drip coffee maker, substitute the same amount of cold water and brew.

Combine the sugar, cinnamon, mint and ginger in a medium bowl. While coffee is still hot, pour it over the sugar mixture in the bowl, stirring well until the sugar is dissolved. Let steep for flavors to combine (about 30 minutes). Strain ½ of the coffee into the cold pan from the freezer and the other half into a pitcher. Return baking pan to freezer and put the pitcher into the refrigerator.

Check the pan in the freezer after about 2 hours. Using a fork, scrape any frozen coffee around in the pan, continue to check and scrape the pan every hour for the next 2 hours. (Once the granite is made it may be used as needed for up to one week, keep covered with plastic wrap.

To serve – fill a medium glass ½ full of frozen coffee granite, drizzle 1 teaspoon sweetened condensed milk over ice, then fill the glass with the cold refrigerated coffee. Top with milk as desired and serve.

The night before, mix the beer, Worcestershire sauce and crystal hot sauce in a large freezer sipper lock bag, add the steaks and seal it shut and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, mix the other ingredients in a bowl. Take the steaks out of the marinade, discarding the marinade. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels damp with olive oil. Coat steaks with the spicy mix, rubbing into the steaks.

Pre-heat the grill to hot. Grill the steaks until they have a dark crust about 2 minutes per side for medium rare (depending on the thickness)

Let meat rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Perk 3 recipe – Keeps me SLIM (now this one you have to repeat after each bite, keeps me slim)

Heat oven to 350° with a rack in the lower third. Sift the flour and salt twice; set aside.

To make cake: In a bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer at low speed until foamy (about 2 minutes). Add cream of tartar; beat at medium-high until fluffy and soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until eggs form a peak when beater is lifted out. Transfer egg whites to a large bowl; sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whites. Fold in, using a rubber spatula, scraping up from the bottom of the bowl. Continue to sift and fold in the flour mixture in batches; fold in lemon zest and crushed coffee beans. Transfer mixture to a dry, ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Run a knife through the mixture to remove air bubbles. Bake until top is just golden and a small knife inserted into the cake comes out clean (about 45 minutes). Invert the pan upside down to cool.

Run a knife around the edges and the middle of the pan; remove cake. Cut cake horizontally into thirds; set aside.

Cut 1/2 of the strawberries into thirds or halves, depending on their size. Transfer to a medium bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; toss and reserve. Chop the remaining strawberries into medium pieces; transfer to a second bowl, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of the espresso powder mixture. Toss and reserve.

To assemble: Arrange 1/3 of the cut cake in the bottom of a large glass serving dish. Brush the cake well with the espresso powder mixture. Spread 1/3 of the espresso cream over the cake followed by 1/2 of the egg white mixture. Cover with 1/3 of the chopped strawberries and their liquid and 1/3 of the sliced strawberries; dust lightly with cocoa powder. Repeat with a second layer. For top layer, brush final cake layer with remaining espresso powder mixture, and top with remaining espresso cream mixture, chopped and sliced strawberries, and remaining liquid; dust with cocoa powder. (Trifle may be served right away or covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated, up to 6 hours.)

Ethiopian shepherds first noticed the effects of caffeine when they saw their goats appearing to become frisky and “dance” after eating coffee berries. This village was known as Kaffa, that is where the name coffee originated.

The rise of Islam contributed greatly to the popularity of coffee. The religion prohibited drinking alcohol, but coffee was considered an acceptable drink.

ALL Coffee in the world coffee grows in the BEAN BELT. The “bean belt” is the area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Hawaii is the only state in the US that grows coffee.

In 1675, the King of England banned coffee houses, claiming they were places where people met to conspire against him.

70% of the world consumes Arabica coffee, which is mild and aromatic. The remaining 30% drinks Robusta, which is more bitter-tasting but has 50% more caffeine than Arabica.

Coffee grows on trees. The tress can grow to be up to 30 feet tall, but are cultivated to be around 10 feet tall for easy-picking.

The Bean is actually a seed of a bright red berry.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. Oil is the first. Coffee Berries are picked, dried, and stripped down until all that’s left is a green bean. Once shipped, the beans are roasted at around 500F. After a few minutes, the bean will “pop” and double in size. A few minutes after that, the bean will “pop” once more. The second pop means the bean is done.

George Washington invented instant coffee. Not President George Washington, but a Belgian man living in Guatemala in 1906 with the same name.

Espresso is not a particular type of bean, roast, or blend. Espresso is just a way that coffee is prepared: shooting pressurized, hot water through finely ground coffee. Caffe Latte – little foam, lots of milk, espresso. Mocha – whipped cream, milk, chocolate syrup, espresso. Cappuccino – tons of foam, milk, espresso. Americano – lots of water, espresso. The term “Americano” comes from American GIs during WWII. They would order espresso with water to dilute the strong flavor. Furthermore, the term “cup of joe” comes from American servicemen (GI Joes) in WWII being seen as big coffee drinkers. Breve – foam, Half & Half, espresso, Espresso – nothing added!

Caffeine Buzz and how it works: In your brain there is something called adenosine and it only wants to hang out with certain receptors. When these two get together, you get drowsy. When caffeine shows up, it attaches to the receptors so that Adenosine cannot. Your pituitary gland sees this and thinks there’s an emergency, so it tells the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline. In addition, caffeine bumps up your dopamine levels. The result? A CAFFEINE HIGH!

Special thanks to The Oatmeal for these little known facts.

Now that you are thinking I need a good cup of coffee….visit our store and check out all our gourmet coffee! Use the code “blog” to receive free shipping on any order.